Fallen
I remember being in 3rd grade. I was running over to the McMillan's house and I don't know why I was running, but I think I always was running here or there; but anyhow, I was running and tripped over the concrete of their back patio and fell... hard. I heard my left wrist crack and I screamed. My mom came out of the house with Mrs McMillan, they were having "martini hour" (that is so dumb, "martini hour."The 70's were such a weird time...), and I can remember rolling into my mother's arms and my hand looked detached from my arm, it just hung there. I was crying like crazy and the funny thing is what I remember most is the smell of the walnuts from their black walnut tree. It was so intense, and it kept me from passing out.
Well, we went straight away to Doc Freeman's. In those days all you had to do is call the doc who was generally a family friend, and he would meet you at his office. It was a Sunday and the sun was going down, I could hear the bells at the college... the same ones I hear now sitting in my backyard in the summer. We went into his exam room, and he put my hand in this holder where it was kind of hanging in the air and told me to hold on, that it was going to hurt again, and he squeezed the break back together. It was excruciating. Then, he wrapped it in some gauzy thing and then plastered it.
It turned out that I thought secretly that I looked pretty danged cool with a cast. But it took 6 weeks to heal. I didn't like not being able to go to the pool, or not being able to run and play rough in the neighborhood. I still rode though, nothing could keep me off my bike... what I did hate is for people to see it. It made me seem clumsy or crippled at first. It was hard, and humiliating. I got a lot of attention with it on, and everyone wanted to sign it. Doc asked me if I wanted to keep the cast after he removed it since all my friends signatures and well wishes were there, but to me, all I could see was a stinky encasement that needed to be shed. I saw no names, my friends there were not on that cast, they were waiting patiently for me to be better again, and the cast was only a reminder of an injury. And all I wanted was my skinny, beautiful little arm back, and to peel away the old dead skin and start strengthening it with the play and mayhem of the day.
I wanted to be whole again. And in a short time, I was.
Well, we went straight away to Doc Freeman's. In those days all you had to do is call the doc who was generally a family friend, and he would meet you at his office. It was a Sunday and the sun was going down, I could hear the bells at the college... the same ones I hear now sitting in my backyard in the summer. We went into his exam room, and he put my hand in this holder where it was kind of hanging in the air and told me to hold on, that it was going to hurt again, and he squeezed the break back together. It was excruciating. Then, he wrapped it in some gauzy thing and then plastered it.
It turned out that I thought secretly that I looked pretty danged cool with a cast. But it took 6 weeks to heal. I didn't like not being able to go to the pool, or not being able to run and play rough in the neighborhood. I still rode though, nothing could keep me off my bike... what I did hate is for people to see it. It made me seem clumsy or crippled at first. It was hard, and humiliating. I got a lot of attention with it on, and everyone wanted to sign it. Doc asked me if I wanted to keep the cast after he removed it since all my friends signatures and well wishes were there, but to me, all I could see was a stinky encasement that needed to be shed. I saw no names, my friends there were not on that cast, they were waiting patiently for me to be better again, and the cast was only a reminder of an injury. And all I wanted was my skinny, beautiful little arm back, and to peel away the old dead skin and start strengthening it with the play and mayhem of the day.
I wanted to be whole again. And in a short time, I was.
posted by SPOA | 2:06 PM
4 Comments:
I stopped running this year. But I still enjoy riding very much :)
You look pretty danged cool now. And you have friends who know that there's no need for you to be better than you are. But they want you to feel better too, and they've got all the patience in the world. They won't need it, though. Because it won't take you long.
Even though I'm so dumb! I thought you were globalfriendshipnetwork...
Yeah, like I would worry about your health :) I'm even dumber though: I clicked the link!
Post a Comment
<< Home